10 Comic Books You Need to Read (and hide from your kids)

Booked & Loaded drops 10 comics that you must read...these are not your kids superhero stories.

Don't be fooled! If you think comic books and/or graphic novels are just for kids, you are missing out on some great literature. Open your mind and jump into the world of comics!

I read A LOT. Shocking, right? So, I tend to purchase and read comics in trade paperback. Trade paperbacks contain several issues of the comic, nicely combined and bound for your reading pleasure. Every book listed below can be purchased as a trade paperback.

This list focuses on comic books for adults that contain great story lines, fascinating worlds and unforgettable characters.

1. Saga

AMAZING. Truly, this series blows me away. Set in a science fiction setting, Saga is about everything. Family, cultural stigmas, drug abuse, war, love and loss only begin to touch on issues this series manages to dive into. You will laugh. You will cry. You will become obsessed.

2. Chew

3. Revival

Dark and entertaining, Revival will leave you thinking. Mystery and horror join together in a great story about one rural town in Wisconsin, where the dead come back to life. The government gets involved and things become very personal for Officer Cyress. This is not your typical dead-come-back story....

4. The Walking Dead

Yeah, yeah. I know. You are thinking that you know this story because of the TV show. They did a great job with the show, but the books are still amazing. Full on horror with amazing characters and it is fun to compare the differences between the TV Show and the original comic books.

5. Preacher

Alright, TV stole this one too. Horror..oh the horror. Preacher Jesse Custer merges with a force (Genesis) giving him the power to compel people to do whatever he says. It quickly becomes violent and fantastic.

6. Bitch Planet

Bitch Planet is thought provoking and unique. Science fiction and feminisim combine to create a world where society's expectations of what you should be are enforced. Too skinny. Too fat. Too strong willed...you would be Non Compliant. All Non Compliants are sent to a female only prison on another planet.

7. Sex Criminals

Sex Criminals is a sci-fi tale of relationships and orgasims that stop time. Enough said.

8. Clean Room

Secretive cults. Apopcalypic happenings. Clean Room is a story about evil, evil, and maybe more evil. Horror within horrors and yet you won't be able to look away...

9. I Hate Fairyland

I Hate Fairyland is a violent and strange tale about a forty year old woman that is not only stuck in a six year olds body, but has been trapped in a magical world (Fairyland) for the last thirty years. Be prepared for it get to get weird.

10. Rat Queens

The Rat Queens are a group of drunken, moster murdering battle maidens. Swords and sorcery line the pages with lots of snark, as to be expected. Darkly hillarious. Prepare yourself for D&D flashbacks.